The Return of the 3 Piece Suit Repost of WSJ.com
By RAY A. SMITH and a little Editing By Erik Peterson
THREE’S A TREND!
The three-piece suit has been asserting itself with increasing frequency on designer runways, as well in the collections of traditionalists such as Tom James. They’re now a fixture of men’s fashion magazine spreads. And they’re popping up more in pop culture, on celebs including Bradley Cooper and Usher, and on TV characters such as Roger Sterling of “Mad Men” and Patrick Jane (played by Simon Baker) on “The Mentalist.” They’re even showing up on gangsters in HBO’s period show “Boardwalk Empire.”
The three-piece, a suit with a matching waistcoat (aka vest), is the most formal type of suit, long the provenance of dandies, 1930s film stars like Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Clark Gable, and later, bankers in London and on Wall Street. It’s a fussy suit, one with an extra unit, which is why it disappeared for nearly 20 years after World War II as the result of fabric rationing.
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It vanished again in the ’90s, suffering the dual blows of minimalism and casual Friday (which spread into casual Everyday). But some men are dressing up again, thank goodness, and not necessarily just for the office; they’re even adding flourishes like pocket squares and tie bars. The three-piece suit makes a statement, literally, of one-upmanship in the dressing-up arms race.
The waistcoat gives a suit more heft, visually as well as practically: it adds a layer of warmth in the cooler months. It also keeps the shirt and tie in place and can have a trimming effect, almost like a girdle, on a man’s middle (beer bellies rejoice!).
.However, the three-piece suit’s formality does necessitate some rules. It looks best with a tie—leave the tieless, top-buttons-undone look for your two-piecers, unless you are going for a John Travolta-in-“Saturday Night Fever” vibe. Wear your three-piece with a spread-collar shirt—it forms a nice symmetry with the vest’s wide V-shape. Make sure the vest is long enough to hit your waistband and that your tie isn’t hanging out. Never close the bottom button of your vest, just as you wouldn’t the bottom button of your suit jacket. And while we’re on the subject of buttons, never wear the vest unbuttoned and never button the suit jacket. What’s the point of wearing the vest if you’re covering it up?
This debonair suit also calls for formal footwear, so no loafers. Go with wingtips or captoe shoes. If you’re more daring and spontaneous, you can choose a waistcoat in a different color or pattern, or even a cardigan or sweater vest in lieu of a matching one. The less fashion-adventurous would do well to stick with a coordinated vest, though. In which case it’s as easy as, well, 1, 2, 3